Chris Murphy Wins 2nd Term

MATTHEW KAUFFMAN, DON STACOM and BILL LEUKHARDTThe Hartford Courant

Riding a national wave of anti-Republican discontent, freshman Congressman Chris Murphy won an easy victory in the sprawling 5th District Tuesday, winning in nearly every municipality as he turned back a challenge from state Sen. David Cappiello.

Murphy, who won a decisive victory against incumbent Nancy Johnson two years ago, was once again buoyed by a Democratic shift, appearing to win the district by at least the 12-point spread with which he captured the seat in 2006.

Murphy did well throughout the district, even winning 55 percent of the vote in Danbury — Cappiello's hometown.

Murphy barely spoke of his own victory when he took the stage at 10 p.m., but instead proclaimed to a cheering crowd that U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's projected presidential victory would change America.

"You can feel the world changing under your feet," Murphy said as campaign volunteers and Democratic leaders roared. "We have changed the world."

Afterward, several children of campaign volunteers gathered around Murphy for autographs, and dozens of supporters lined up to hug him, shake hands and pose for photos.

About 200 supporters had packed into Murphy's campaign gathering in the landmark Howland-Hughes building in downtown Waterbury Tuesday night, eagerly awaiting a victory celebration.

Slow-arriving results from big Farmington Valley towns and the district's major cities delayed the festivities. But shortly before 10 p.m., a campaign worker announced unofficial results from Waterbury: Murphy had won the city by roughly 10,000 votes.

Coupled with the big win in Danbury and a lopsided advantage in small Litchfield County towns that had reported early, the Waterbury announcement was enough for campaign staffers to cheerfully high-five each other in front of TV cameras.

Around the same time, campaign workers said, Cappiello called Murphy and conceded the race.

At Cappiello's campaign gathering in Danbury, the earliest returns from small 5th District villages had given supporters hope. But as vote totals continued to come in, it quickly became apparent that he could not defeat the incumbent.

At 10:20 p.m. Cappiello greeted about 80 supporters, who applauded warmly as he told the faithful that he was not going to be their congressman. He said that he was proud of his campaign and the help he received, but that the fates were against the Republican ticket this election.

"There was a juggernaut coming at us called Barack Obama," he said. "And that was difficult to overcome. The voters made their decision."

He said he might decide to run again in two years but has no immediate plans.

"I don't want you to feel bad for me," he told the crowd. "I am an incredibly lucky human being to have had the honor of serving you all."

Cappiello, who gave up his state Senate seat to run for Congress, portrayed himself as a McCain-style maverick, a moderate, principled politician willing to buck his own party. He portrayed Murphy as ineffective in his first term, and already beholden to special interests. In addition to holding a spot on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Murphy serves on the House Financial Services Committee, and Cappiello criticized Murphy's acceptance of hundreds of thousands in campaign funds from finance-related companies.

First-term members of Congress typically are vulnerable, so Cappiello received national Republican Party money, as well as fundraising visits from Republican leaders, including President Bush and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. But while his war chest topped $1 million, campaign filings showed Murphy still had twice as much money to spend.

Murphy, meanwhile, focused on voter disenchantment, and consistently linked Cappiello to Bush and the Republican Party. Overall, however, it was a relatively cordial race, in sharp contrast to the 2006 contest, when both sides were criticized for negative campaigning.

This time around, both Murphy and Cappiello ran television spots promoting a folksy, family-oriented image, and focusing on economic and energy issues, while avoiding ads that mentioned the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The eclectic 5th District stretches from the well-heeled western suburbs of Hartford to the New York border, taking in most of tony Litchfield County as well as blue-collar Danbury, New Britain, Meriden, and parts of Waterbury and Torrington.

Two years ago, Murphy won in 35 of the 41 cities and towns. This time, he again did well throughout the region, even winning two of the six towns he had lost two years ago. For example, Murphy lost Watertown in 2006 by 104 votes. But he won the town Tuesday by more than 1,000 votes.

At Murphy's headquarters, the walls were papered with "Veterans for Murphy" and "Waterbury for Obama" signs, and a half-dozen off-duty city firefighters in "Firefighters for Murphy" T-shirts watched network coverage on TV.

Before the polls closed, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal chatted with Democrats at Murphy's gathering and predicted an easy victory. He credited the first-term congressman with setting up a powerful base for re-election.

"He just laid a really solid foundation — he did all the homework, the grass-roots work, the constituent service," Blumenthal. "The way he went about it was the essence of intellect and integrity."